Top 10 global supply chain executives

Top supply chain chiefs: Sabih Khan, Apple

SVP Operations: Sabih Khan
Khan reports to COO Jeff Williams, and is in charge of Apple’s global supply chain, ensuring product quality and overseeing planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and product fulfilment. He also oversees Apple’s supplier responsibility programs that are designed to protect and educate workers at production facilities around the world.

Since joining Apple in 1995, Khan has helped deliver Apple’s innovative products to market. Prior to Apple, he worked as an applications development engineer GE Plastics. 

Top supply chain chiefs: Chris Nicholas, Walmart

COO: Chris Nicholas 
Nicholas serves as EVP & Chief Operating Officer at Walmart US, a role that means he is responsible for all aspects of its US supply chain. This includes overseeing strategy, innovation, automation, store operations, distribution and fulfilment centres, last mile delivery and real estate.

He joined in 2018, serving first as deputy CFO, and then CFO for Walmart International. His background is retail, and he has 20 years’ experience working in nine countries and serving in leadership roles with companies such as Tesco, The Salling Group and the Coles Group in Australia.

Top supply chain chiefs: Marion Gross, McDonald’s

CSCO: Marion Gross
Supporting 37,000 restaurants and 64 million customers internationally, Gross says that “with my team, I focus on resilience while activating industry wide progress in safety, quality, and sustainability”. 

She has been with McDonald’s for 30 years, and under her leadership, McDonald’s has achieved Gartner Supply Chain Masters recognition for five consecutive years and is ranked in the Top 10 global supply chains.

Known for her consistent focus on developing strong, diverse teams to drive business results, Gross’s remit encompasses food quality and safety, strategic sourcing and cost management, distribution, logistics and supply chain integration, sustainability, new product commercialisation and execution, field execution, and supplier business diversity.

Top supply chain chiefs: Magdi Batato, Nestlé 

Head of Operations: Magdi Batato
Batato has extensive experience in manufacturing, combined with business experience in both developed and emerging markets. He is responsible for procurement, manufacturing, supply chain, ESG, and operations strategy.

He says he is “working to make Nestlé's supply chain and production better and more sustainable, day by day”.

Batato joined Nestlé in 1991 as an industrial services engineer, and his factory and production management expertise took him to Germany, Lebanon, South Africa, Malaysia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UK.

Top supply chain chiefs: Kathryn Wengel, J&J

COO: Kathryn Wengel
Wengel’s full title is EVP, Chief Technical Operations & Risk Officer. It’s a role that sees her lead J&J’s supply chain and procurement teams, and she also oversees engineering and property services and sustainability. Her critical-risks responsibilities include quality & compliance, health care compliance, environmental health & safety, global security and global brand protection. 

Under her leadership, Johnson & Johnson has become the only healthcare company ever ranked among the top five on the Supply Chain Top 25 list by Gartner.

In 2019 Wengel was awarded a lifetime Distinguished Service Award by the Council of Supply Management Professionals and elected to the Supply Chain Hall of Fame, the industry’s top individual supply chain honour. 

Top supply chain chiefs: Karen Jordan, PepsiCo

CSCO: Karen Jordan
As Chief Supply Chain Officer , PepsiCo Beverages, North America, Jordan has a portfolio of billion-dollar brands, including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Starbucks and Rockstar.

Jordan spent nine years at Procter & Gamble, before joining Pepsi in 2002 as a Supply Chain Operations Manager.

“I am known for collaboratively driving benchmark productivity and service results in an FMCG retail environment,” she says of herself. “I use on-the-ground plant management experience to deliver world-class safety, quality, service, sustainability, and cost.”

Top supply chain chiefs: Reginaldo Ecclissato, Unilever

CSCO: Reginaldo Ecclissato
Ecclissato’s history with Unilever spans 32 years, eight countries and a wide variety of roles. Since being named Chief Business Operations and Supply Chain Officer in 2022, Ecclissato has leveraged the combined power of technology, teamwork, data and partnerships to create a global supply chain that is “sustainable, effective and resilient from the first mile of production to the last”, he says.

He adds: “By combining high expectations with a supportive approach, I aim to inspire and motivate my team to achieve their goals while fostering a collaborative and positive work environment.”

Top supply chain chiefs: Mourad Tamoud, Schneider Electric

CSCO: Mourad Tamoud
Tamoud joined Schneider in 1997 as Supply Chain & Logistics Manager, becoming SVP of Global Supply Chain China in 2012, a post in oversaw manufacturing and distribution operations, and was responsible for procurement and supply chain.

In 2016 he was appointed as EVP Global Supply Chain Operations, and oversees operations, transformation, logistics, network design and strategy for the entire Supply Chain organisation.

Top supply chain chiefs: Pete Kraemer, AB InBev

CSCO: Pete Kraemer
AB InBev's Chief Supply Officer Kraemer joined the company 32 years ago, holding various brewing positions over the years, including Group Director of Brewing, and Resident Brewmaster of the St. Louis brewery. In 2008, he was appointed VP Supply for North America, leading all brewery operations, quality assurance, raw materials and product innovation responsibilities. He was appointed Chief Supply Officer in March 2016.

He says: “Some people have jobs, some have careers, and some, like me, have found their true calling. As a fifth-generation brewmaster, I’ve spent 28 years turning my passion for beer and quality ingredients into a career.” 

Top supply chain chiefs: Isabelle Conrot, Gartner

Exec Partner for CSCOs: Isabelle Conrot
Conrot spent almost 30 years with multinational healthcare company Roche, rising to Head of Global Logistics & Supply Chain Operations. It was a role that saw her steer Roche through the pandemic, and also help shape sustainable logistics and supply chain operations. 

Now, as Exec Partner for CSCOs at Gartner – one of the world’s leading supply chain consultancies –  Conrot draws on her deep experience of the role to “coach, develop and influence at all levels of an organisation”. 

She helps CSCOs and their teams “develop a clear common purpose”, and also supports them through “ambiguity, change and transformation”.